singing in the rain
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: M&MWP, slash, oneshot. Astoria knows that Draco retreats into his mind sometimes, but she knows not where he goes. And he never will let her know. Perhaps. Mentioned if used, thx. *belated bday pressie for Shade*


**singing in the rain**

A HariPo oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _Harry Potter_ characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. **This pairing was discovered by ****EveryShadeOfDeath****, so please give her a little mention if you write them**! **Thanks**! It is an honorary pairing of one of many of **Mew and Mor's Weird Pairings**, most of which you may find in the **M&MWP forum. **This is a Scabco piece to celebrate my pal, **EveryShadeOfDeath**'s, birthday. Sorry it's a tad late, Shade! Check out and join the forum FUN! Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: This is kind of a sequel to "taste of frustration" and "Easy Way Out," the first 2 Scabco stories, but you don't _have_ to read them first to enjoy this.

- ^-^3

"Draco, come back to bed."

The blonde wizard didn't budge an inch despite what Astoria said. He also didn't reply to her. He didn't feel up to it.

He heard her sigh and give up, going back to bed without him. It was probably better this way, that she realize his heart would not be in it if they went and married as their parents hoped. Astoria would learn that he had no room in his heart for her romantically, though she was a good friend. She was one of the few who had seen past his wrongdoings in his last year of schooling. Only Blaise, Pansy, and Daphne had done the same. The rest…

Well, to be honest, he could care less about the rest.

When he was sure he was alone again, Draco resumed a previous train of thought as he stared out the window in the sitting room that branched off from his room. There was a balcony, too, but he didn't want to go outside. It was raining, and he was perfectly fine looking from the inside out.

Funny thing, it raining. Despite the downpour, the sky wasn't wholly gray. It had still just a hint of blue. The color was a favorite of Draco's; it looked peaceful, hopeful. But it also brought back painful memories.

He thought of times at the Manor, of Snatchers extraordinaire. He thought of teasing smirks and of little greetings. He thought of danger and of chances and of allegiances.

He also thought of betrayals and of not-kept promises. He thought of anger and of frustration and of fear.

But he also thought of feelings, of his hand on someone else's arm, and of red streaks.

_But that's silly_, he thought. He had tried to convince himself that the Snatcher, Delwyn Scabior, had been just some passing whim in his mind, in his life. Because Draco Malfoy was not attracted to men, no. He didn't kiss them either (though that took more effort to recall, after two kisses with Scabior). He also was not attracted to anyone so strongly.

Draco grimaced.

_Maybe a good shower in the rain is what I need._

He turned and went downstairs. Outside, it was still very early morning, but the clouds covered the sun and most of the blue sky. In the backyard of Malfoy Manor was a large garden not all that unlike the labyrinth the champions had had to navigate in the Triwizard Tournament, though this one was definitely much safer.

Still, Draco was more than content to sit on one of the stone benches and admire the flowers growing on the outside of the garden maze. He recognized the roses only, for they were so commonplace—

Draco stilled as he heard a rustle in the bushes. He strained his ears for the sound, as he wasn't convinced it was anything more than an animal or the rain drowning the foliage. When he heard nothing, Draco relaxed enough to stare at the sky again, rain and all. But he was a little put off by the scare.

Looking at the sky, Draco could easily picture a matching set of eyes. Yes, and if there was a laugh and a mark of red, too, then Draco knew that he could still picture Scabior very clearly. But he knew he would never see Scabior again. Once, Draco had said "no" for his family. The second time, Draco had said he'd run away with Scabior—but that didn't happen. After they'd crossed the gorge, Draco had hesitated and said "no" a second time. Scabior, still on the bridge, had become very agitated and he'd ranted at Draco for leading him on again. Sadly, that bridge's foundations had been weakened from the suits of armor being present on them hours before, and the floor had crumbled beneath Scabior. Draco had to watch in horror as he could do nothing to save a man—well, a man about whom he did care. _It's my fault for telling him "no,"_ the wizard thought with a frown. _He'd probably still be alive if it weren't for me_…

The wizard stood and marched into the maze, taking his mind off Scabior by focusing on the flowers. The rain always brought these memories to mind, even though two, almost three years had passed since he'd last seen Scabior. Compared to those dark thoughts, the flowers were a nice distraction.

However, he heard the rustle again. Draco's hackles went up. Following the war, he'd all but shut himself off from the world, for he never wanted to be involved in anything so dangerous ever again. But just because he'd shut himself off from the world didn't mean that the world shut itself off from him. And it seemed to come find him. "I know someone's there," he said loudly.

If someone really was, they didn't give away their position.

Were they toying with Draco? Was someone playing a terrible prank on him? Hadn't he and his parents suffered enough? They'd avoided Azkaban, but they were outcasts, only a few close family friends still interacting with them.

Or maybe…maybe someone had come to finish the job and rid the Wizarding world of the Malfoys once and for all.

"Please leave," he said, though not as loudly. "I don't want to have to escort you off my property." Though his wand was in his hand, he didn't feel reassured. His wand nearly had been glued to his palm following the war.

This time, there was a response: a whistle. It wasn't just one note. It was a series of notes, as though the person were humming a tune. Three slow notes preceded three quick ones, another three quick, and a long single one. The person repeated the pattern a few times.

Thanks to the maze and the rain, however, Draco couldn't pinpoint the person's location. He knew it wouldn't be his father—Lucius couldn't whistle. Narcissa preferred to hum than to whistle, and she would've announced herself. And Astoria…well, Astoria was still in bed. Besides, he would've seen any of them enter since he'd been by the entrance.

So…this meant that whoever it was, he or she was lying in wait.

"Fine then, I'll come find you." Draco cleared his throat and took a few leaden steps forward. But he picked up his pace as a thought bolstered him, the idea that the sooner this annoyance was solved, the better.

The pattern was repeated a few more times with little variation. Sometimes Draco thought he was getting close to it; other times the person sounded to be on the other side of the maze. But the thing about these garden labyrinths was that they always met in the middle and, though Draco didn't remember the way since he'd last been here in his childhood, he Burned a mark onto the left walls to follow a winding path through the enigma. It was about ten minutes before Draco felt he was lost, but then he took a right turn and stumbled upon the clearing.

He gasped.

In the clearing was a stone bench that matched the ones outside the entrance. But that wasn't the shocker. The real shocker was the mirage in front of Draco's eyes. It frightened him.

"Sca…Scabior?"

The mirage whistled the pattern again and grinned as he faced Draco. "Hullo there, lovely. It's been a while." He stood, hands on hips, as though he was waiting to be thanked for saving the day.

Draco frowned. "…why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you come here?" He shook his head. "And how?"

Scabior gave him a look. "You really 'ave to ask?" He sighed. "Cushionin' Charm, of course. Didn't prevent me from blackin' out from my fall, no, but I survived."

Draco closed his eyes, unable to believe this even though he'd wondered something similar. "Then why did you come here? I thought you were angry. I turned you down not once but twice."

Scabior scowled. "You know exactly why."

The Malfoy nodded. It was only a few months ago when their parents had put a notice in the papers about Draco and Astoria's engagement. They would probably be engaged for a while, but they were betrothed nevertheless.

"So naturally I 'ad to come back for you."

"What makes you think I'll go this time?"

Scabior's grin returned to his face as he took several steps towards Draco. "I don't think you 'ave much of a choice, Draco. You can't stop thinkin' about me, can you?"

Draco bit his lip as he looked up at Scabior's face. Of course he hadn't stopped thinking about a man he'd thought he'd killed. Of course he couldn't stop thinking about a man who'd risked his neck for him. Of course he couldn't stop thinking about a man who just wanted them to run away so that he could have Draco all to himself. And sincerely, too. It wasn't just possessiveness with Scabior. It was you're-mine-and-I'm-yours-and-that's-that.

Scabior looked ready to kiss him, but he didn't even though he bent down. Draco felt his breath on his face.

"Are you not leaving without a yes?"

Draco closed his eyes again, but Scabior took a few steps back. His gentle chuckle forced Draco to look at him and see his sad smile. "I'm never leavin', luv. I'm just a figment of your imagination."

Panic seized him and Draco darted forward, his hand reaching for the Snatcher without a thought. But his hand passed right through him. Dear Merlin. Was he really insane?

He'd actually seen a mirage.

But that wasn't what bothered him the most. No, what got to him was the overwhelming loneliness that crashed over him as soon as those eyes had dissolved into the mist. Draco sank to his knees, trying to get a hold of himself. He'd never been so distraught before, and certainly not because another's absence was the cause.

Of course. That was it.

Draco returned to the house only to change and grab a few things. He wasn't going crazy, he thought as he left Malfoy Manor. His true feelings merely had manifested during the rain, taking on a pivotal form. And if he couldn't get that form out of his head, then there was no reason to stay here where the real Scabior wasn't. Draco had been wishy-washy long enough; now, both Scabior and Astoria deserved the truth. Draco told Astoria first, in a note:

_Ast—_

_ I doubt you'll be surprised when you wake up to find I'm not there. But we both know that my heart's elsewhere, Ast. I can't ruin your life. You're too dear to me…just not in the way our parents wished._

_ Please, don't let them look for me. I don't want to be found. I'm going to find someone myself, and then—I don't know. And I don't know if I'll ever be back._

_ Tell Mum I'm sorry, and give Daph, Pans, and Blaise all my love._

_ But I'm saving all my love for __him__._

_Yours,_

_Draco_

He'd underlined "him" in red, knowing she would understand, for he had spoken only briefly of his Snatcher to her once. But he wanted her to know. Maybe it was the kindest thing he'd ever done…

But now the boldest thing he'd ever do would be to find Scabior and at last give him that "yes."

- ^-^3

**I smell sequel! ;D *LOL* Tbh, I really like Draco/Astoria friendship. And I like this kind of Draco that's not totally emo. Of course, I love Draco/Louis (another M&MWP) even more, but… ;P I also really enjoyed this mirage idea; I've heard that fogs can play tricks on the eyes, after all. But yeah. ****Note****: The whistled tune is real! I had "Fatal" (I think that was the one) by Japanese composer Yoko Kanno in mind; it's this eerie whistle done by the villain in the anime **_**The Vision of Escaflowne**_**. (It's short and definitely I recommend looking it up on Youtube or something! :] )**

**Been a while since there's been more Scabco, eh, Shade? ;}**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**-mew-tsubaki :)**


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